Amy's Robot

24 series finale: Shut it down

So this damn show that's been running on fumes for the past 3 or 4 (or 7) years is finally over. 24 is the only TV show that I've seen every single episode of, and while it feels a little weird now that it's finally out of my life forever, at least I won't have to keep quietly wondering if I'm still watching it out of some misguided sense of one-sided loyalty.

The thing is, as implausible and absurd as the storyline was this year, again, the show still has some outstanding moments. Last week's episode when Kiefer put on body armor, complete with some sort of Kevlar Darth Vader robot helmet, and single-handedly mowed down an entire secret service detail before kidnapping a former President--it's scenes like that that 24 knows how to do.

I also liked Kiefer forcing Chloe to shoot him in last night's episode (above). It was a tense but sweet scene. Only a show like this could have one character show another how much she loves him by blasting him through-and-through, so the bullet didn't hit any bone or major organs.

The plot about President Taylor sliding into corruption to get her peace treaty signed stopped being interesting about 3 months ago, no matter how many times she pounded her fists and demanded that this peace treaty was the single most important political event! ever! to happen! in history! But I liked last night's shot of her watching Kiefer's video and slowly crumbling under the relentless velvetiness of the Sutherland Bedroom Whisper, which brought her back to righteousness and made her resign.

But plot was never what made the show good. Kiefer himself said, when the series was coming to a close, "It's a very, very difficult show to write." Which is probably why it was at its best when no one was talking.

As usual, the action went right up to the last minutes of the season. The final scene of Kiefer telling Chloe, the only person who's stood by him through everything and not gotten killed, how much she means to him was a genuine and tender moment, even if he was speaking into a drone's video feed. Right up until the end, he was by far the best thing about the show.

I can't say I'm looking forward to the movie.

If you really want to watch this show, you can see all the episodes here.

categories: TV
posted by amy at 5:09 PM | #